wounded victor...

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."
But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

27 The man asked him, "What is your name?"
"Jacob," he answered.

28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name."
But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon. Genesis 32:22-32

Struggling is not something that most American Christians like to discuss. Far too often we are more interested in a therapeutic faith that seeks to anesthetize pain and shrug off any need to persevere and “hold onto” the Lord. Much more than that though, we forget that God uses problems and sufferings to correct our course and teach us that reliance on Him is more important than even our life or health.

This passage of Scripture is so helpful in understanding this concept. Jacob is the chosen one over Esau, and yet he is marked for much of his life with that name Jacob which means “deceiver” and so that is the way that he survives and indeed thrives. He is far from perfect, and yet there are times where his faith is evident. He has encounters with the God of his fathers, still his life is filled with struggle even from the womb, through his rivalry with Esau, his dealings with Laban, and now with the God-man. But it is this final struggle that allows him to realize the fuller blessing of God’s promise. For Christians today, we should look to Jesus Christ who struggled against men and with the Father and prevailed. We need to be willing to also struggle against the world (Romans 12:2) and cling to God for His blessing. That doesn’t mean we should expect to come out of our struggles unscathed; in fact we may limp our whole lives as Jacob did. God will, however, renew our identity in Him and we will be marked and redeemed by His grace in the middle of the struggle.

No, "we can't"...

So, today we have a new president. Before I get into this, let me say that it is pretty unbelievable that we can have a total overhaul of our government without the nation breaking out into civil war and with the old government and the new government on the same stage... And it is a huge step in our nation's history that race is no longer the kind of barrier it used to be. For these reasons, today was a good day for our country...

That said, there is a problem as we head into this next administration... this idea that "WE CAN..." This has been the rallying cry of the new administration and a point around which people stand, cheer, and find hope. It's this idea that if we pull ourselves up by the boot straps and put our arms around each other, we can solve the ills of the world. It's a nice thought, and makes for a great slogan, but in the grand scheme of things it is false.

Now, if you are still reading this, then you are either highly confused, ticked off, or just waiting to see what I mean... So, I'll explain...

There are a lot of things that you and I as human beings can do. We can create things, we can destroy things, we can love, we can hate, we can make breakfast tomorrow morning, we can run marathons, climb mountains, open up people's hearts, and administer medical knowledge in ways that prolong life or take life... in fact, this list of things we CAN do is quite long... but it's limited. There are things we can't do. We can't yet leave the orbit of Earth and return back. We have yet to eliminate all disease. We can't yet run marathons faster than 2 hours. We can't read people's minds. Nor divert hurricanes or tornadoes. And this list is far longer... And even the things we can do have limits. While we can make breakfast tomorrow there is no guarantee that you won't burn it, or that you won't spill your cereal, and so on...

What I am saying is that you and I can do a lot of things, but not everything, and even what we can do, we can't do all the time... no matter how well we prepare or how much we believe we can do this or that. So, what?

This idea that "we can" do whatever we set our minds to fails at one particular point: God is in control of it all. Too often we say we have the power, and we have the ability to do whatever we like without realizing that we are not even promised our next breathe.

And ultimately the main problem in the world is sin... The reason the housing market has tanked, the reason there are wars, the reason families fall a part, why terrorism exists, why there is a ecological problem... all of it has to do with sin. And the bottom line is that you and I can't do a darn thing about this fallen state. Nothing. We can't. But through Jesus Christ we have a hope, and not the kind of hope we have in a politician that maybe things will get a little better over the course of the next four years... but a hope that is sure and firm that what God has promised He WILL accomplish.

Now, I'm not trying to be pessimistic, nor anti-progressive, but if we want to understand our place, and latch onto power that really matters we have to recognize that we are creatures... special and blessed creatures, but still creatures. Our only hope lies in our reliance on the Creator. A Creator that has also taken

As we head into a new phase in our country's history we should hold a very humble attitude and be ready to say "No we can't... BUT HE CAN!"